


Off-by-One Errors

by ezazahaz



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Established Steve Rogers/Tony Stark, Happy Ending, M/M, Misunderstandings, Multi, OT3, Polyamory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-15
Updated: 2020-02-15
Packaged: 2021-02-27 23:48:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 720
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22704211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ezazahaz/pseuds/ezazahaz
Summary: “Why are there only settings for two?”Polyamory doesn’t always mean a triad.Tony knows that. Steve and Bucky don’t. Misunderstandings ensue.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers, James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers/Tony Stark, James "Bucky" Barnes/Tony Stark, Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Comments: 9
Kudos: 367





	Off-by-One Errors

“You ready for us?” Steve asked, his heart racing in anticipation as he opened the door to the roof and looked out at the table Tony was setting up.

“Yep, almost set up!”

The flickering candlelight and vase of marigolds set a simple but beautiful scene, and the air was filled with the aroma of Tony’s delicious Italian cooking.

But one thing was wrong, and when he noticed it Steve stopped so abruptly Bucky walked into him.

“Whoa, Stevie, what--” Bucky seemed to notice the problem. “Why are there only settings for two?”

Tony froze, then looked up from the wine he’d been pouring.

At the look of confusion on Tony’s face, Steve’s heart sank.

* * *

A few days earlier 

_“Do you still love him?”_

_Steve was startled by Tony’s sudden question. Lying in bed after an intense bout of love-making, he’d thought his lover had fallen asleep. “Huh?”_

_“Bucky,” Tony clarified, then turned his head to meet Steve’s eyes. “You were in love with him, before, and now he’s back.”_

_“That doesn’t... Tony, I told you, I never did anything about my feelings for him. And I’m with you now, so it doesn’t matter.”_

_“But he loves you, too. I see how he looks at you.”_

_“Tony, I love you, I’m not going to...”_

_“What if I want you to? What if I tell you polyamory is acceptable now, that you can be with both of us?”_

_Steve’s heart sped up. “Are you... you mean that? You want that?”_

_“If it would make you happy, of course.”_

_Steve kissed Tony intently, pouring all of his excitement and gratitude and love into it._

* * *

_“Stevie, I don’t want to get between you guys.”_

_“That’s the beauty of it, Buck--he wants this, too. It’d be all three of us, and that’s... it’s more than I’d ever dreamed. That is, if you’re interested.”_

_Bucky gave a laugh, one Steve had feared he’d never hear again, a gleeful mix of incredulity and joy. “He’s hot, smart, and the most generous person I’ve ever met--and just enough of an asshole to make people forget to thank him. And you’re... Steve. How would I not be interested?”_

_Steve smiled, but replied, “I dunno, you can make dumb decisions sometimes...”_

_Bucky grinned. “Punk.”_

_“Jerk. So, Tony has plans for our first date... the rooftop, six o’clock on Saturday?”_

_“I wouldn’t miss it.”_

* * *

Now

“You didn’t...” Steve began, then briefly met Bucky’s eyes in apology before looking back at Tony, “You didn’t mean for this to be the three of us?” 

“What? No...” Tony looked honestly bewildered. 

“Right,” Bucky said, “Just a misunderstanding, of course, I’ll just leave you two...” He started to turn away. 

“No!” Tony said. “No, this is for you and Steve.” 

Bucky stopped, then looked at Tony. “So... you want your boyfriend to date me, but you don’t want me?” 

Tony’s mouth opened, his eyes looked almost frantic, but it was several seconds before he spoke, “I knew you wanted each other, I didn’t want to get in the way of that. What I want isn’t important.” 

“The hell it’s not!” Steve burst out, then he stalked over to Tony and grabbed him by the shoulders. He continued, quieter but no less intense, “Tony, I agreed to this because I thought it would be all three of us together. I thought you wanted that. If you don’t, I’m not stepping out on you.” 

“An’ I didn’t want to get between you, but Steve said you wanted...” Bucky stepped forward and put a hand on Tony’s arm, meeting his eyes intently. “Tony, do you want to date me?” 

Tony’s eyes were huge. “If that’s actually on the table? Yes. I didn’t think you’d... but, yes.” 

Steve felt relief shudder through him, saw Bucky’s sigh and grin suggesting he felt the same. 

“Then let’s do this,” Bucky declared. “Steve, if you grab another plate and all, I’ll grab a third chair... that is, unless you just wanna sit on my lap, doll?” 

Tony didn’t blush a lot, but Steve loved to see it on the rare occasions he did. Maybe, between him and Bucky, they could get Tony to blush more often. 

“Let’s go ahead and add a third chair for dinner,” Tony managed, then winked, “But maybe we could change things up for dessert...” 

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted this to be something more but it just wanted to be posted, so I figured Valentine’s Day was a good enough excuse to get it out.


End file.
